In recent years, the use of cellular phones, music players, video players, video games, computers, and a variety of hand-held electronic products has greatly increased. Because they are hand-held, some of those electronic devices as computers are often carried by the user in a separate case. There have been attempts to create wearable electronics such as music players integrated into the frames of eyewear, eyewear radio devices as well as wearable computers. However, due to a disconnection between electronic products and the biological aspects of the human body, prior art devices have failed to provide a useful wearable electronic apparatus that adequately interact with the human body and which fit anatomically and physiologically with the body while allowing full interaction of senses including vision.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide electronic devices and electronic functions which are hands-free and can be worn on the surface of the body in a biologically fit manner. The present invention provides a convergence between electronic products and the biological and anatomical aspects of the human body and biomechanics of the body while providing a series of hands-free and interchangeable wearable electronic apparatus that can interact with human senses and physiology of the body in a practical manner.
Housing electronics and/or power source in the frames of eyeglasses, as provided by prior art devices, creates bulky, heavy, cumbersome, and uncomfortable gear, which consistently places a heavy weight against the users' ears which can generate discomfort. Moreover, such heavy and awkward eyeglasses are cosmetically undesirable with buttons, ear buds, and other unattractive parts being visible at all times, taking away the elegance that can be the key feature of eyeglasses frames, and making them unsuited for use on a daily basis including at work, at school, or attending formal events.
A further problem for the prior art devices is that they rely on wires passing through the hinges at the front portion of the temples. This makes the manufacturing process difficult and more expensive. In addition, because the wires running through the hinges are repeatedly folded and unfolded with the temples of the glasses, the wires have a tendency to become damaged, substantially reducing the useful lifespan of the products.
The large size and heavy weight of eyeglass frames housing electronics can prevent a comfortable fit and use. U.S. Published Patent Application Nos. 20040059212 and 20040242976 describe eyeglasses to measure biological parameters wirelessly. However, because the electronics and wireless transmitter are housed in the eyeglass frames, the frames are heavy and can cause discomfort over time.
Bulky, prior art eyeglass frames or head mounted gear that house electronics and/or power sources and/or and unsightly ear buds in a non-removable fashion require the user to wear the device at all times, even when the electronic functionality of the device is not being used.
The prior art also discloses “wearable” computers. Typically, however, these devices are complicated and not practical to use. Moreover, because they are not adapted to fit well onto a human body, their weight is not well distributed, and will normally cause discomfort to the wearer, discouraging long term use of the devices.
Wearable articles of clothing (including hats) with permanent electronics embedded on them are financially unattractive, because discarding the wearable article would also require throwing away the embedded electronics device. Similarly, a desire to replace or upgrade the electronics device requires disposal of the wearable article.
Many people use different types of portable electronic devices, such as cell phones, MP3 players, PDAs, etc. Another deficiency of the prior art is a failure to disclose eyeglasses, eyeglass accessories, or wearable articles in which the user has the option to choose from a plurality of electronic functionalities using the same eyeglasses frame, eyeglass accessories, or wearable article. The prior art also failed to disclose eyeglasses and eyeglass accessories in which the user has the option to choose from electronic devices already in possession by the user. With the present invention if the user already has several hand held devices, such a cell phone, a music player, a GPS device, and a PDA, the user can turn all of those devices into hand free devices and wearable on the body, without the need for the user to buy a new electronic device to be worn on the body.
Another problem with electronic devices such as computers, DVD players, cellular telephones, digital music players, and electronic organizers, is that in order to be operated they require the user to hold the device or place the device on an object (such as a piece of furniture or the floor) for support. It would be very useful to have an electronic device which does not require being held or placed on an object for support.
In addition, “hand-held” devices require that they be held. While some cellular phones and digital music/video players have accessories that permit the user to use the device without having to hold it, using such apparatus and accessories is cumbersome, and it is necessary to carry and store the accessories until they are actually used. Furthermore, it is easy to forget to bring the accessory, such as the ear bud or a strap to secure a digital player to the body, when needed.
Furthermore, electronic eyeglasses and electronic eyeglass accessories of the prior art, by not having a structure designed for interchangeability, require the user to buy and carry many devices for achieving different functions. This requires the user to have one electronic eyeglass accessory for a radio, another electronic eyeglass accessory for a music player, and a further one for a cellular phone. This increases cost for the user which has to buy several electronic eyewear accessories and the inconvenience of having to carry several electronic eyewear accessories. This also increases cost for the manufacturer which now has to make different devices losing economies of scale, difficulties with keeping inventory of different models, and has problems with shelf space by having to display different models. It would be desirable, as provided by this invention, to have an electronic eyewear accessory which is low cost and that universally can accept any electronic device, therefore allowing the user to only carry one electronic eyewear accessory.
Moreover, hand-held devices are easily lost or misplaced, and unattended hand-held devices can be easily stolen. It is common for people to forget their hand-held devices in restaurants, airplanes, taxi cabs, etc. It would be very useful to have a non-hand held and hands-free device that can be worn in a comfortable, non-obtrusive, and biologically-fit manner without requiring the user to carry extra devices or accessories in addition to the equipment already being worn on the body.